Terrify your neighbours with The Original Trumpkin

Make your own Original Trumpkin!

Have you ever wanted to scare the bejeezus out of your neighbours on Halloween? Finally you have you chance with The Rochdale Herald’s original Trumpkin!

Step 1.

Download the following template and print two copies. Landscape format on A4/US Letter paper should be just peachy.

Please keep your original Trumpkin away from young children, animals or those of a sensitive disposition.

Step 2.

Hollow out your pumpkin by cutting around the stem with a sharp, strong knife. Please be careful as spilled blood can taint the delicate pumpkin flesh and ruin the final effect. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard, munch or set aside for the birds (recommended).

Step 3.

Attach the template to the pumpkin using sticky tape. Do the sides first and then the top. You will have to make some creases in the edges of the paper to get a good fit, so I’d recommend making these in the black areas to avoid making Donald any uglier than he already is.

Step 4.

Take something really sharp. I use a #3 surgical scalpel, but a decent craft knife should do the trick. Maybe now is a good time to ask a grown-up to help you. Seriously, be careful. Those things will slice to the bone.

Carefully work around the white areas of the template, scoring through the paper to leave a clear mark on the pumpkin skin. Don’t try to remove anything yet, just trace the outlines. Where the detail is particularly fine, just make small cuts to mark the location. You can fine-tune them later.

Step 5.

When you have completed tracing the template, you can peel it off and discard it. Place a bright light (I use an LED inspection torch) inside the pumpkin and you should be able to clearly see the outline of the design. You can now begin to cut away the skin, a little at a time. Use the second copy of the printed template as a reference.

I’d recommend practising on the large area or Trump’s shirt collar as that will be removed. For really fine detail, just slice into the flesh a few times along the same cut lines – you will see it get gradually brighter.

Step 6.

Brighten up areas of the design by carefully scraping the flesh with the scalpel. The deeper you go, the brighter the result.

The Original Trumpkin

Hopefully, you should still have ten fingers and something vaguely resembling this.

The Rochdale Herald accepts no responsibilty for trauma caused to unsuspecting trick-or-treaters.

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